PMP Practice Test 45 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A project manager is managing a construction project and notices that the actual cost for concrete work is consistently 15% above budget. The earned value (EV) is $100,000, and the actual cost (AC) is $115,000. The project manager wants to estimate the cost at completion (EAC) if this trend continues. Which formula should the project manager use?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

EAC = BAC / CPI. The question states the cost overrun trend (15% above budget) is expected to continue. The formula EAC = BAC / CPI is the appropriate 'typical' estimate at completion when current cost performance is projected to persist. With EV = $100,000 and AC = $115,000, the CPI is 0.87, and dividing the BAC by this CPI yields the forecasted total cost assuming the same efficiency.

Answer

EAC = AC + Bottom-up ETC

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EAC = AC + (BAC - EV)

Answer

EAC = BAC / (CPI * SPI)

Question 2

You are managing a project that is experiencing scope creep. Several stakeholders have been informally requesting additional features directly from team members. Which TWO actions should you take to address this?

Accepted Answer

Educate the team on the importance of following the change control process.. Educating the team on the change control process ensures that all requests are formally evaluated, preventing unauthorized scope changes. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on maintaining a controlled process for scope changes to avoid scope creep.

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Refuse all new requests until the project is completed.

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Conduct a meeting with stakeholders to review the project scope and re-baseline if necessary.

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Update the stakeholder engagement plan to limit stakeholder interactions with the team.

Question 3

Arrange the steps for developing a project team.

Accepted Answer

Identify needs, then acquire team members, then build the team, then set ground rules, then train. The correct sequence for developing a project team starts with identifying the required skills and resources, then acquiring team members who meet those needs, developing the team's interpersonal and technical skills (building), setting ground rules to guide behavior, and finally providing specific training to close any remaining gaps. This order ensures that team members are in place before development activities begin, and that rules are established to support a productive environment before training is delivered.

Answer

Acquire team members, then identify needs, then build the team, then set ground rules, then train

Answer

Identify needs, then build the team, then acquire team members, then set ground rules, then train

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Identify needs, then acquire team members, then set ground rules, then build the team, then train

Question 4

A project manager is closing a project that was delivered on time and within budget. The customer has accepted the final deliverable. Which THREE activities should the project manager complete during project closure?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a lessons learned session with the team and stakeholders. A is correct because conducting a lessons learned session is a key activity in the Close Project or Phase process, as defined in the PMBOK Guide. This session captures knowledge from the project's technical execution, such as how the team met the on-time and within-budget constraints, and ensures that insights are documented for future projects. It is a formal requirement to improve organizational process assets and prevent repeating mistakes.

Answer

Process final payment to vendors and suppliers

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Close all procurement contracts formally

Question 5

You are leading a Scrum team. For the past three sprints, the team has consistently completed all committed user stories. The product owner wants to increase the team's velocity by 20%. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a retrospective to identify process improvements that could sustainably increase velocity. Velocity is a measure of past performance, not a target. The team should self-organize to improve their process sustainably through retrospectives. Option A is wrong because reducing the definition of done to skip testing compromises quality, increases technical debt, and is unsustainable. Option B is wrong because instructing the team to commit to more stories forces a target on velocity, which can lead to burnout and does not address process improvement. Option D is wrong because estimating stories with lower story points artificially inflates velocity, masking true performance and hindering accurate planning.

Answer

Reduce the definition of done to skip testing activities

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Instruct the team to commit to more stories each sprint

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Ask the team to estimate stories with lower story points to increase velocity

Question 6

A project is behind schedule due to a key vendor delivering late. The contract includes penalties for late delivery. The project manager is considering options. Which THREE actions are most appropriate per PMI?

Accepted Answer

Negotiate a revised delivery schedule with the vendor to minimize impact. Reviewing the contract helps understand remedies. Enforcing penalties may compensate for delays. Negotiating a revised schedule with the vendor is collaborative and may recover time.

Answer

Document the issue in the issue log and escalate to senior management

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Terminate the contract and find a new vendor

Question 7

A project team member from a different cultural background tends to avoid direct confrontation during disagreements, which frustrates other team members who prefer direct communication. As the project manager, which TWO actions should you take to improve team dynamics?

Accepted Answer

Introduce anonymous feedback tools for sensitive issues.. Anonymous feedback tools allow team members to express concerns about cultural or communication differences without the discomfort of direct confrontation, which aligns with the PMI principle of fostering a respectful and inclusive team environment. This approach respects the cultural preference for indirect communication while still surfacing issues that need resolution. Option D is correct because facilitating a team session on cultural diversity and communication preferences directly addresses the root cause of the conflict by educating the team and promoting mutual understanding, which is a proactive leadership action under the 'People' domain.

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Tell the frustrated team members to accept the differences.

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Require all team members to adopt direct communication styles.

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Report the issue to human resources.

Question 8

You are managing a project that is 15% over budget at the midpoint. The earned value (EV) is $100,000, actual cost (AC) is $115,000, and planned value (PV) is $110,000. What is the most likely reason for the cost variance?

Accepted Answer

Costs are higher than planned for the work performed. The cost variance (CV = EV - AC) is -$15,000, indicating a cost overrun. This means the actual cost to complete the work performed ($115,000) exceeded the earned value ($100,000), so costs are higher than planned for the work performed. Option B is incorrect because SV = EV - PV = -$10,000, meaning the project is behind schedule, not ahead. Option C is incorrect because AC > EV and AC > PV, so the project is over budget. Option D is less likely because a scope increase would typically increase EV if the additional scope is being performed, and the budget might be adjusted accordingly; the given data does not support scope increase as the primary cause.

Answer

The project is ahead of schedule

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The project is under budget

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The scope was increased without adjusting the budget

Question 9

You are the project manager for a construction project. A key vendor notifies you that they cannot deliver a critical component on time, which will delay the project by at least two weeks. The vendor was already on the risk register with a contingency plan. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Activate the contingency plan outlined in the risk register. D is correct because the risk was already identified and documented in the risk register with a pre-defined contingency plan. According to the PMBOK Guide, when a risk occurs, the first action is to implement the contingency plan if one exists, as it is the planned response to the specific risk event. This ensures a structured, pre-approved approach without unnecessary delays or escalation.

Answer

Immediately contact alternative vendors to find a replacement

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Update the project schedule to reflect the delay and notify stakeholders

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Inform the project sponsor of the delay and ask for guidance

Question 10

You are leading a distributed Scrum team. The product owner consistently interrupts the development team during sprints with new requirements, causing scope creep and reduced velocity. The team is frustrated. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Coach the product owner on the importance of maintaining a stable sprint backlog and using the product backlog for new ideas. The Scrum framework explicitly requires the product owner to maintain a stable sprint backlog once the sprint has started. Introducing new requirements mid-sprint violates the sprint goal and causes scope creep, which undermines team velocity and morale. As the Scrum Master or project leader, your role is to coach the product owner to defer new ideas to the product backlog for future sprint planning, preserving the integrity of the current sprint.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor

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Ask the development team to work extra hours to accommodate the changes

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Add the new requirements to the sprint backlog and adjust the sprint goal

Question 11

A project manager notices that two senior developers have conflicting work styles, causing delays. What is the best approach to resolve this?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting to discuss and resolve differences.. Facilitating a meeting to discuss and resolve differences (D) is the best approach because it directly addresses the root cause of the conflict—work style incompatibility—by fostering open communication and collaborative problem-solving. As a project manager, you act as a servant leader, using conflict resolution techniques like 'confronting' or 'problem-solving' to turn the disagreement into a constructive dialogue that aligns the team toward project goals. This approach preserves team cohesion and leverages the developers' expertise without escalating or avoiding the issue.

Answer

Escalate to the functional manager for reassignment.

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Ask the team to vote on which style to adopt.

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Assign them to separate tasks to avoid interaction.

Question 12

During a daily standup, a developer mentions a technical issue that will likely delay a user story by three days. What is the BEST action for the Scrum Master to take?

Accepted Answer

Record the impediment and work with the developer after the standup to resolve it. The Scrum Master's primary role is to remove impediments for the team. Recording the impediment and working with the developer after the standup ensures the daily standup remains a time-boxed synchronization event (15 minutes) and does not derail into a problem-solving session, which violates the Scrum Guide. The technical issue causing a three-day delay is an impediment that the Scrum Master must help resolve, not a task to delegate or escalate immediately.

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Tell the developer to escalate to the project manager

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Ask the team to stay after the standup to solve the problem immediately

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Assign the issue to the product owner for prioritization

Question 13

You are managing a project to develop a new mobile application. During a risk review meeting, the team identifies that a key third-party API may be deprecated before the project completes, which could cause significant rework. The probability is assessed as medium, and the impact is high. The team has identified alternative APIs. What is the BEST risk response strategy?

Accepted Answer

Mitigate the risk by developing a fallback plan using alternative APIs and testing integration early.. It proactively reduces both the probability and impact of the API deprecation risk by developing a fallback plan with alternative APIs and testing integration early. This allows the team to switch seamlessly if the primary API is deprecated, minimizing rework and schedule delays.

Answer

Transfer the risk to the API provider by purchasing insurance.

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Accept the risk and take no action, as it may not happen.

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Avoid the risk by not using the API and building all functionality in-house.

Question 14

You are managing a project using a predictive approach. A key vendor informs you that they will be unable to deliver a critical component on time, which will impact the critical path. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Analyze the schedule impact and evaluate options such as crashing or fast-tracking. In a predictive project, the first step when a critical path delay is identified is to analyze the schedule impact and evaluate recovery options like crashing or fast-tracking. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's 'Plan Schedule Management' and 'Control Schedule' processes, where you assess the variance and determine corrective actions before escalating. Immediately notifying stakeholders or switching vendors without understanding the impact could lead to unnecessary panic or premature decisions.

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Immediately notify the project sponsor and stakeholders about the delay

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Instruct the procurement team to find a new vendor

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Update the risk register and move on

Question 15

An executive stakeholder bypasses the project manager and directly instructs a team member to work on a new feature not in the project scope. The team member is confused. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Tell the executive stakeholder that they must go through the PM for all requests. The project manager must first address the governance breach by directly communicating with the executive stakeholder to reinforce the established communication management plan. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's principle that all formal requests should flow through the project manager to maintain scope control and prevent unauthorized work. The immediate action is to clarify the process, not to escalate or submit a change request without understanding the stakeholder's intent.

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Reprimand the team member for following instructions without consulting the PM

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Instruct the team member to ignore the executive's request

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Submit a change request for the new feature